Tug and trace fastener.



W. E. SBELYE.

TUG AND TRACE PASTENER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1913[ 1 ,O82,215, Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

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AWL/ Witnesses Inventor I Attorneys CDLUMIIA PuNoaIuu-n 1:0..WAsumamN. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. SEELYE, OF SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO, CANADA.

TUG AND TRACE FASTENER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM E. SEELYE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sault Ste. Marie, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Tug and Trace Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a trace fastener.

An object of the present invention is to provide a trace fastener which will remain in a locked position and will also remain in an unlocked manner when so positioned.

A further object is to provide a trace fastener which may be easily installed upon any swingletree already in use, will not materially weaken the same, and is prevented from becoming accidentally unlocked.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invent-ion resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and 1n the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of whatis claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part thereof, the preferable form of my invention is illustrated, in which Figure 1 is a top view of a swingletree with a trace fastener positioned thereon and my improved fastening means secured thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view of the swingletree and showing the trace in elevation. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View taken through the axis of the swingletree. Fig. 4C is a somewhat similar view showing the trace fastened in an unlocked position. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the fastener.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 is the body portion of the device which may fit over the end of a swingletree or be formed as a part thereof, the end of which is bifurcated or provided with a longitudinally extending slot 2 in which my improved trace fastener is secured. The trace 8 is provided with the usual aperture 4 therein and which aperture is of sul'licient size to fit over the end of the swingletree as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The position of the trace 3 upon the swingletree 1 is limited by a suitable stop in the form of an outwardly Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 2, 1913.

Patented Dec. 23,1913.

Serial No. 777,042.

projecting boss or lug 5 so that when it is desired to position the tug or trace upon a swingletree no relative adjustment of the two is necessary, the tug or trace being slipped upon the swingletree until it contacts with the stop 5. Located approximately central of the slot 2 taken with respect to the vertical is a wide thin bar 6 which is adapted to secure the latch 7 to the swingle tree and mount the same for rotatory and transitory motion.

The latch 7 comprises a long narrow plate 8 the lower extremity of which is provided with the hooked portion 9, the purpose of which is to engage the bar 6 and to prevent the said latch from becoming displaced or removed therefrom. Spaced a distance from the hooked portion 9 approximately equal to the width of the bar 6 is an outwardly extending lug 10 which supports the latch when in a vertical position as illustrated in Fig. 3 and also coacts with the hooked port-ion 9 and the bar 6 to prevent the latch from becoming displaced fro-1n the slot 2 of the swingletree. The upper portion 11 of the latch is adapted to extend beyond the end of the swingletree when the latch is in a horizontal position as illustrated in Fig. at and affords gripping means whereby the latch may be rotated to a vertical position prior to the dropping of the same into a locked position. The end wall 12 of the slot is spaced a distance away from the end of the wide bar 6 a distance slightly in excess of the thickness of the latch and is provided with an arcuated portion 13 which allows for the rotating of the hooked portion 9 about the bar 6 as a center in order to pass from a vertical to a horizontal position. The latch member is provided with a channel 14: extending along one face thereof adjacent the lug 10 and which is adapted to engage the edge of the bar 6 and thereby be prevented from j ouncing upwardly which would tend to throw the same out of a locked position.

In the practical use of my improved trace fastener the latch is first brought to a hori' zontal or extended position as illustrated in Fig. 4: and the trace 3 passed over the end of the swingletree and abuts against the boss or stop 5. The end 11 of the latch is then gripped and manually rotated about the hooked portion 9 as a center until the same assumes a position as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The latch is then released and dropped by gravity into a locked position as illustrated in Fig. 3 in which the channel 14 engages the end wall of the strip 6 and the trace holds the same in such relation. The particular advantage of con structing the latch and the securing bar in the manner as I have described will be clearly apparent especially when it is pointed out that the latch will remain in the extended position as illustrated in Fig. 4 so that in order for the trace to be placed upon the swingletree the latch is first set in the said position and the trace then placed over the swingletree without interference from the latch. The latch is then manually rotated and dropped into its locked position in which position the body portion of the latch extends below the swingletree to a dis tance approximately equal to that which it extends thereabove, the result being that an even pressure or holding eifect is produced upon all port-ions of the trace. Furthermore mention is made of the fact and considerable importance attached thereto, that with the structwe as herein described it is not necessary that the slot extend beneath the final position of the trace so that the swingletreewill not be in any way weakened at those points at which stress is brought to bear thereon.

What I claim is 1. A trace fastener comprising a latch, including a lower hooked end, and alug outstanding centrally therefrom, and a supporting bar for said latch coacting with the said hooked end and the said lug to hold the latch niovably secured thereto, said latch member adapted to assume a horizontal position for the passing of a trace thereover, said latch member adapted to assume a vertical position for the locking of the trace therebehind.

2. The combination with a swingletree provided with a slot extending therein, of a bar extending thereacross and spaced a distance from the end of the slot, a latch member comprising a body portion, a hookshaped end, and a lug outstanding therefrom, fitting between the end of the slot and the said bar, said latch member coacting with the said bar, the hooked end and outstanding lug engaging the said bar and preventing the accidental displacement of the latch member therefrom, said latch member adapted to assume a horizontal position for the passing of a trace thereover, and adapted to assume a vertical position supported by the lug coacting with the bar to hold the trace against displacement.

3. The combination of a swingletree provided with a slot extending therein, a bar extending across said slot at a slight distance from the end thereof, a latch member fitting between the said bar and the slot end, said latch member provided with a hookshaped end and an outstanding lug spaced a distance therefrom approximately equal to the width of the said bar, the hooked end and outstanding lug coacting with the said bar to prevent the accidental displacement of the said latch member, said latch member adapted to assume a horizontal position for the passing of a trace there over, said latch member adapted to assume a vertical position for the locking of the trace upon the said swingletree.

4. In a trace fastener the combination of a swingletree provided with a slot extending therein, a bar extending across the said slot and spaced a distance from the end thereof, a latch member mounted for rotation and translation within the slot behind the bar, said bar prohibiting the removing of the said latch member,said member adapted to translate and rotate into a horizontal unlocked position, and into a vertical locked position.

5. In a device of the class described the combination of a swingletree provided with a slot extending therein, a trace stop removed a material distance from the end of said slot, a wide thin bar extending across the said slot and spaced a slight distance from the end thereof, a latch member fitting within the slot behind the bar, said latch member provided with a hook-shaped end, an outstanding lug spaced a distance from the end approximately equal to the width of the bar, the opening defined by the slot in the bar mounting the latch member for translation and rotation and prohibiting the removing thereof, said latch member provided with a channel adjacent the said projecting lug adapted to interlock with the edge of the said bar, said latch member adapted to assume a horizontal position for the passing of a trace thereover, said latch member adapted to assume a vertical position supported upon the bar by the said lug for the locking of the trace upon the said swingletree.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aifixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM E. SEELYE.

Witnesses GEO. IV. Snorrs, RHEA KAUPP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. I). C. 

